Metal Guidance, as if Aided by the Gods

He first wandered around casually, then began experimenting with the mindset of just messing around.

He casually picked up a piece of metal, placed it in the furnace, pressed the button, and began heating it.

While waiting for the metal to heat up, Chen An picked up another piece of metal.

There was no special sensation at first, but when he activated the power of the Golden Armor War God Ape, the feeling came.

He suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of closeness toward the metal, as though he knew it inside and out.

The feeling was profound and difficult to put into words, yet it undeniably existed and was rather intense.

It was as if he had once studied this metal in great detail.

In truth, he only knew the metal's name. His family had purchased this type of metal before when making Soul Tools.

But if someone had asked him about its specific properties, he would not have known.

Yet now, his understanding of this metal had reached the point where he could describe its properties.

It was remarkable, and a rare smile appeared on Chen An's face. He had been right.

Choosing to obtain metal-element power had been an extremely wise decision.

He looked at the metal gradually turning red in the furnace, eager to give it a try.

If he had not used metal-element power, he would not have known when the metal had been heated sufficiently.

He might have simply taken it out once it had burned bright red.

But while empowered by metal-element power, he somehow knew exactly when the timing was optimal.

He could not explain why. It was simply intuition—an instinctive intuition toward metal.

Chen An began hammering the metal once it had reached the ideal temperature.

Rather than using the forging hammer provided here, he summoned his own Profound Gold Battle Hammer.

He shrank it to the size of an ordinary forging hammer, and it weighed less than a hundred jin.

The instant the Profound Gold Battle Hammer touched the metal, it resonated with it, establishing a special connection.

Clang, clang, clang... Chen An swung his hammer in rapid succession, using broad motions.

Each strike compressed the metal by nearly a third, sending surface impurities flying.

Several more blows landed in succession, and the metal's shape rapidly began to change.

Chen An swung his hammer quickly and entirely on instinct, as though slowing down even slightly would make the metal imperfect.

He hammered the metal purely by instinct, changing the force behind every blow.

Those adjustments in force also came from instinct. It was as though some invisible power were guiding his forging.

All of those instincts stemmed from the special connection between him and the metal.

Chen An became increasingly aware of just how wise his decision to obtain metal-element power had been.

To make the best use of metal, one had to understand metal well enough.

What understanding could be stronger than establishing a connection akin to flesh and blood?

The metal itself was the teacher instructing him in forging, telling him what to do.

It was also the best teacher, one no person could possibly compare to.

Clang, clang, clang... Chen An emptied his mind and swung the hammer completely on instinct.

He enjoyed this feeling of acting by instinct. It made him feel relaxed.

Strike after strike, even Chen An himself did not know how many times he had swung the hammer.

He only knew that he should follow his instincts. Whenever the metal told him to stop, he would stop.

Before long, he had swung the hammer over a hundred times, and the metal's volume had already been reduced by half.

He was still hammering, though his movements had become smaller. The exertion was considerable.

After swinging the hammer more than a hundred times in succession, his hands were beginning to ache.

Nearly forty percent of the Soul Power in his body had been consumed, which was no small amount.

None of that expenditure had gone to waste. The impurities in the metal he was forging were nearly completely removed.

Chen An did not know what level of forging he would achieve this time.

The metal had not told him when the end would come. It was simply guiding him to keep swinging.

Since the metal guided him this way, he would follow it until he could no longer lift the hammer.

Forging was exhausting. When had Chen An ever suffered like this before?

But now, he could only grit his teeth and persevere, because he knew this hardship was merely the beginning.

The things he would experience in the future would only be harder and more painful than forging.

No matter how difficult it became, he had to persist. He could not give up, nor could he slack off.

His father and younger sister could not have died for nothing. No matter what, he had to avenge them.

The moment he thought of his father and sister, it was as though some kind of energy had been injected into his body.

His exhaustion was swept away, and he became energized, his gaze especially resolute.

Clang, clang, clang... The Profound Gold Battle Hammer continued to fall, constantly reshaping the metal.

Time slowly passed, and Chen An had been swinging his hammer continuously for more than an hour.

His right hand had almost lost all feeling, moving mechanically and numbly.

Sweat had long appeared on his forehead, fatigue showed on his face, and his body was beginning to weaken.

Clang! Chen An brought the hammer down heavily, and a crisp sound rang out from the metal.

A ray of light burst forth from the metal, exploding in the air like fireworks.

The Profound Gold Battle Hammer vanished as Chen An's Soul Power ran out. He staggered backward and nearly lost his footing.

Only by grabbing the table did he manage to steady himself. He panted heavily, utterly exhausted.

After slowly recovering, he looked toward the metal on the forging table, which emitted a special glow.

Compared with how it had been at the start, this piece of metal had shrunk by nearly three-quarters.

It was a relatively flat square, palm-sized, with a deep gray color and no impurities.

Chen An slowly approached. Looking at the metal, he felt an inexplicable sense of closeness.

He had already withdrawn the Golden Ape's power, so logically, he should not have felt this way.

Did it arise because of the forging? Chen An considered the reason.

He tried hard to recall the parts of the novel's story related to forging.

Hundred Refinements removed impurities, Thousand Refinements refined the essence, fifth-level was Spirit Forging, sixth-level was Fusion Forging, and seventh and eighth levels were Soul Forging.

At the ninth level came God Forging, the highest realm of forging at present.

The forging he had completed could immediately be ruled out as God Forging, Soul Forging, or Fusion Forging.

Those were forging realms he could absolutely not reach at his current level. His Soul Power was insufficient to support them.

Spirit Forging was not very likely either. That forging realm bestowed spirituality upon metal.

Although he felt that he had established affinity with the metal, that did not mean the metal possessed spirituality.

"Hundred Refinements remove impurities, Thousand Refinements create essence. I should have completed the impurity-removal process."

"That means this metal has at least reached the second level of forging."

"As for what grade of Thousand Refinements it belongs to, I have no idea."

"Thousand Refinements, second grade, seems to mean a Third-Level Blacksmith." Chen An tried hard to recall.

The light that had burst out earlier might have been the sign of successfully completing Thousand Refinements.

In the novel's story, light phenomena had also appeared when Tang Wulin completed Thousand Refinements.

His situation was somewhat similar. The only difference was probably that he had not dripped blood onto the metal.

Blood-sacrificing metal was not a necessary step for completing Thousand Refinements.

It was merely a customary act when a blacksmith completed their first Thousand Refinements work.

It could elevate the metal and establish a closer connection between it and the blacksmith.

Today's second chapter. Please vote with monthly tickets, bookmark it, and send recommendation tickets.

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